Welcome Home
by heartofawriter28
Summary: A mother-son dance leaves Kevin feeling down and depressed in the absence of his own mother.


**Listen**

**Kevin's mother is named Ava, and she is played by Lori Loughlin, and if you have anything bad to say about her because of the college admissions scandal, bITE ME.**

**Anyway, I love Tierra but I hate the way they basically just had Kevin and Josie totally okay with the affair and everything so quickly because that's not realistic, so have a nice little angsty but fluffy family/mother-son fic.**

When Kevin Keller arrived at school on Monday morning, he had been in fairly good spirits. He hadn't had to see his father and _future stepmother_ being disgustingly domestic because Sierra had left early for work, Tom had let him take the old Corvette in the garage to school, and he hadn't had any homework the previous night, so he'd been able to just relax.

His good mood was ruined, however, when he walked into Riverdale High only to be greeted by a large blue banner bearing the words **Mother-Son Dance**. Several people in the hall were talking about the event, and Kevin just barely caught Veronica's name being thrown around as the organizer. His mood already severely dampened, he walked up to his locker, shoving his books inside before making his way to the student lounge to find his best friend. Just as he'd predicted, she, Archie, Betty, and Jughead were there sitting together, and she looked up when he came in.

"Hey Kev!" the girl said cheerfully, taking a sip of her coffee before realizing his less than stellar disposition. "What's wrong?"

"Mother-son dance?" he questioned in return, flopping in the only empty chair. Veronica's own expression dimmed slightly with his words.

"Yeah...sorry, I didn't think about how you'd feel about it. I brought it up at the events committee meeting, and everyone seemed to like the idea."

"Whatever. I don't care." he muttered, slumping further in his chair.

"Have you gotten to talk to your mom at all lately?" Betty asked gently from her place nestled against Jughead's side as usual. Kevin shrugged a little, fiddling with the strap of his bag.

"For a few minutes last night before she had to go. We try to talk every night, but sometimes she can't call." They all looked at him with pity, and he _hated_ it. He appreciated that they felt bad for his mom being away, but he detested being pitied, especially about that particular situation when his father had so easily moved on with her away. "I'm just gonna go to class."

He stood up, ignoring the way they were still watching him as he left the lounge to head to his first period. The entire way, all he heard about was the dance. The word was beginning to grate on his ears, as well as his nerves, and he was in an even worse mood when he finally sat down in his first class.

His sour mood remained for the rest of the day, forcing him to wave off people's questions and concerns. He didn't like talking about his mom very much for the simple fact that every time he did, he ended up getting upset at not having been able to see her for so long. She had been deployed nearly 18 months earlier. It had started out as an estimated eight month deployment, but sometime along the way, an extension was needed and then another and another. Having her away was hard, and he didn't like crying in front of people, so he tended to avoid the topic, even with his father.

So, when he finally stepped into his home that afternoon only to see Tom and Sierra cuddled together on the couch, it really only served to worsen how he was feeling, something he hadn't been aware was possible. Rolling his eyes, he began to bypass them to go up to his room, only stopping at his father's utterance of his name. Sighing under his breath, he slowly turned around.

"How was school, bud?" Tom asked, immediately taking note of the tense atmosphere around his son.

"I'd really rather not talk about it." Kevin answered tiredly.

"Did something happen?"

"No, something's _going_ to happen." He had meant it to be mumbled to himself, but it was just his luck that both adults had heard, if the frowns that appeared on their faces were anything to go by.

"What do you mean, Kevin?" Sierra questioned. "Did someone say something to you? Are you being bullied?"

"_No_." he shook his head immediately. Ever since he had come out to his parents, they'd been worried he may be bullied at school, which he supposed now worried Sierra too since she was part of his father's life. "There's some dance happening next month, it's stupid. Can I go now?"

"Well why would a dance have you upset? Can you not find a date or somethin'?"

"God, no, it's a mother-son dance, dad! Okay?!" The two adults fell silent at that, and Kevin seized the opportunity to make his escape up to his room, refusing to come out even when he heard Josie arriving home downstairs. He even declined to come out for dinner when his future step-sister came in to inform him it was ready.

"I saw the banner at school. Are you okay, Kev?" she asked, her hand resting on the doorknob as she leaned against the doorframe. He just shrugged, continuing to work on his calculus homework. Josie sighed, pushing herself off the frame. "Well, I'm right down the hall if you wanna talk. And I'm having my mom put you some food in the fridge in case you get hungry later."

He abandoned all attempts at homework once she was gone, running his hands down his face. He hadn't gotten so upset over his mom in awhile, but having such an ever present reminder that she wasn't there hurt.

Kevin was proud of Ava. He always had been. Not all people could say their mother was a Senior Chief Petty Officer serving overseas. His mother was undoubtedly someone he was exceedingly proud of. And he knew it was selfish, but sometimes he wished she was a normal small town mom with a normal job like Jughead and Archie's moms, his own mother's best friends. He hated himself for thinking it every time, but he couldn't help it.

With a sigh, he stood from his bed, going over to his desk and opening his laptop. It wasn't always a given his mother would be able to answer, especially since she'd been called away during their call last night, but he opened up Skype and hit the call button anyway. As the sound of the video chat trying to reach her filled his room, Kevin almost gave up. However, just as he was about to hit the end call button, she answered.

"Hi, sweetheart." Ava's smile was bright, and for the first time since that morning, he felt better.

"Hi, mom. How's everything going over there?" Kevin worried a lot about his mother's safety, despite her constant and gentle pleas to focus on school and not to worry himself sick. Sometimes he tried not to worry, but it only resulted in him feeling guilty and worrying twice as much to make up for it.

"Oh, everything's fine. Stable and secure for right now, so I can't complain. How was school today?" she asked, picking up on the subtle shift in his expression as soon as she asked.

"It was okay."

"You wanna try that again?" Ava raised an eyebrow at him. He sighed, having been hoping to keep the whole dance thing a secret from her. He'd always been terrible at lying to either of his parents, but he thought he'd been getting better at it as he got older. Clearly he'd been wrong, so with a sigh, he explained the whole thing to his mother, the look of sadness and guilt on her face the exact reason he hadn't wanted to tell her.

"Well, you know...I'm sure if you asked, Sierra would go with you." It clearly pained her to think about, and even if it hadn't, Kevin made a face.

"She would." Both he and Ava looked behind him at the sound of Tom's voice, both of them falling silent upon seeing him in the doorway. "Hey, Avie."

"Thomas." Tom sighed a little to himself, pushing off the doorframe to step further into the room and stand next to his son.

"How's Bahrain?" he asked, almost awkwardly. He and Ava hadn't spoken much since he'd been forced to call her when Kevin found out about the affair, so it was difficult to find a new footing and dynamic together, especially with her still overseas.

"It's fine. Safe for now." He nodded, putting his hands in his pockets and clearing his throat quietly.

"That's, uh, that's good." Another awkward silence fell over the room before he finally looked at Kevin again. "So what do you say, bud, do you want Sierra to go with you?"

Kevin looked down at a spot on the desk, fiddling with a pencil for a few moments before slowly shaking his head.

"Sorry dad, but it's a _mother-son_ dance, not a _stepmother-stepson_ dance. I don't wanna go without mom." He saw Ava's eyes drop for the briefest of moments out of the corner of his eye before she composed herself again. He knew she felt bad about not being there for their son, she always had, and the news about the dance obviously hadn't helped.

"Alright, well...if you change your mind, just let us know." Kevin made a vague noise indicating he would, but the former sheriff had very little hope of that happening. His son and Josie hadn't become much more accepting of his and Sierra's relationship since they first found out, and it was hard sometimes to deal with that, but he was trying to respect both the kids' feelings. So, he exchanged a quick goodbye with his soon to be ex-wife and left the room, though he couldn't help stopping right outside to listen to what else the two had to say.

"You know...I think your dad would really appreciate it if you gave Sierra a chance." He heard Ava say, though her voice was so soft he had to strain to hear. "Whether you or I like it or not, he _is_ marrying her."

"So? They got together _and_ engaged while you and he were still married. You _are_ still married."

"Yes, I realize, but...we won't be soon, honey. And we both have to accept that." No one else would have noticed the small break in her voice. But after five years of dating and another twenty married, Tom had learned every aspect of the changes in his wife's voice. She was still hurting, and it pained him to acknowledge that he was the cause of it.

"I'll think about it, okay? I can't promise anything else." Kevin finally said after a long few moments of silence.

"Alright. That's all I ask." The two of them talked about trivial things for a few more minutes until Ava was called away again and Kevin was left once more to his self-imposed isolation.

Two weeks passed, and Kevin hadn't budged on his resolution not to attend the dance without his mother. He'd spoken with Ava a few more times about it, as well as his father, Betty, Veronica, Archie, and even Jughead, who wasn't planning on going himself, but his mind was set.

He was determined not to have the conversation with his friends again, so when they extended an invitation to study for an upcoming final at Archie's house, he declined, even when Josie herself asked. Which is how Betty, Veronica, Archie, Jughead, and Josie found themselves sitting in Archie's living room, all with open books on their laps but none of their focuses on the material.

"I feel bad." Veronica said for the sixth time in the last hour. "I don't want Kevin to just be sitting at home alone the night of the dance."

"Well he doesn't want to go without his mom, which is understandable." Josie shrugged a little. "Or maybe he just doesn't want to go with _my_ mom."

"I wish Mrs. Keller could be here." Betty sighed, setting down her pen and giving up all hope of actually getting any work done.

"Maybe my mom can go with Kevin since I'm not going." Jughead offered in his usual half mumble. Veronica lit up, clapping her hands together a little with all the enthusiasm of a girl about to make sure she got what she wanted.

"That's a great idea! Do you think she would?" The boy shrugged, readjusting his beanie as he leaned back against the front of an armchair.

"I don't see why not. She's best friends with his mom, so it's probably a better option than him going with Mrs. McCoy. No offense, Josie."

"Well, let's find out." Before anyone could say another word, Veronica had abandoned her book on the coffee table and gotten up, making her way into the Andrews' kitchen where Mary and Gladys were sitting at the island in front of Mary's laptop. Both women looked up when the teen entered, slight expressions of confusion overtaking their faces when the others filed in after her.

"Hey guys. Is something wrong?" Mary asked, looking between them all.

"No, not at all." Veronica shook her head. "We just wanted to talk to you both about Kevin."

"What about Kevin?" All five of the kids turned their attention to the laptop as Gladys turned it around to face them, revealing a Skype window open and Ava on the screen.

"Mrs. Keller!" Betty stepped closer, smiling when she saw her friend's mother. "It's so good to see you, or sort of see you I guess."

"Hello Elizabeth." Ava smiled back gently before looking at Veronica. "And you are Veronica Lodge, I presume?"

"I am." Veronica nodded, stepping up next to her best friend. "It's so nice to finally meet you."

"It's lovely to meet you too. Kevin talks about you all the time, it's nice to be able to put a face to the name. Now, what is it about him you wanted to talk about?"

"Oh, yes! I assume he's told you about the dance Betty and I are organizing?" When the woman nodded, Veronica took it as an okay to continue. "Well, we know he's been down about not being able to go with you, but we don't want him to sit home alone that night, so we were thinking that maybe since Mrs. Jones is your friend, Kevin might be more open to going with her than Mrs. McCoy."

"We were talking about that just a few minutes ago." Mary broke in gently. "We were wondering if you kids would mind trying to convince him."

"Of course we will!" Betty nodded quickly. She had been worried about Kevin ever since he had first found out about the dance since she knew better than anyone other than maybe his dad how much he missed his mom.

"I just hate the thought of him sitting home alone just because I'm not there to go with him." Ava said with a weak smile. "Try and get some photos for me if you can convince him, will you?"

"Definitely. Don't worry, everything will be taken care of." the blonde teen promised reassuringly. They spoke for a few more minutes about trivial things until Ava was once again called away to deal with minor issues with the subordinates in her fleet, at which point the two girls turned to the adults.

"Okay, so, we'll handle getting Kevin to agree to going to the dance, and you guys just take care of getting your dresses, okay?" Veronica immediately jumped into what her friends had deemed her "party planner" mode, and the two women didn't bother to argue, knowing it was a futile effort.

No one could stop the tornado known as Veronica Cecelia Lodge when she put her mind to something.

It took the entire remaining two weeks, but _finally_, they managed to convince Kevin to attend the dance. There had been a lot of pleading on his friends' part and more than a fair share of arguments, but he'd finally given in and begrudingly agreed to go with Gladys. It was difficult for Tom to accept, his hope that his son would finally give Sierra a chance crushed, but as usual, he tried his best to respect what the boy wanted.

Kevin himself was borderline dreading the whole thing, but Ava had asked him to go with Gladys, and he didn't want to make her feel bad, so he'd agreed amidst Betty and Veronica's incessant pushing.

Straightening out the bowtie of his powder blue suit, the boy took one last look at himself in the mirror and sighed. He knew he wasn't going to enjoy this thing at all, but he'd promised his mother, so he finally stepped out of his room and made his way downstairs where his father and Sierra were waiting, Josie having already left for the school since she would be singing. It was just his luck that their parents would also be chaperoning the whole thing. Just another reason he didn't really want to go.

"Ready, bud?" Tom asked him, holding a hand out to help Sierra off the couch. Kevin just nodded silently, following them out to the car.

The car ride felt insufferably long as he was forced to listen to the two adults whispering and laughing to each other like teenagers. It made him feel quite a strong urge to simply hit his head against the window. However, before he had finished debating the pros and cons of that particular thought, they finally pulled up in front of the school. He jumped out with perhaps more speed than was necessary, almost immediately spotting Archie, Mary, and Gladys standing near the front doors.

Mary's dress was a long, off the shoulder pink silk gown with a layer of sheer blue tulle on top. A pink silk belt wrapped around her waist with strands of light blue snowflakes made to look tucked into it.

Gladys had gone for something a little edgier, wearing a strapless gown with a nude colored bust covered in black lace. From the waist down it was lavender silk topped with a layer of lavender tulle and a layer of split royal purple tulle on top of that.

Archie had gone for something fairly simple with black trousers, a white shirt, black bowtie, and a red jacket with black trim on the collar paired with white vans.

All in all, Kevin felt a little out of place as he made his way over to them. Nevertheless, he offered a weak smile upon approaching, the expression growing the tiniest bit more genuine when his friend grinned at him.

"Nice suit, Kev." the ginger boy said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Thanks, you too. Love the dresses by the way." Kevin replied, directing the latter part of the statement to the adults.

"Thanks kiddo." Mary smiled. "You kids ready to go inside?" The two boys nodded and turned to head inside.

The gym was already filled with people, music filtering out of the speakers for the time being until it was time for Josie to sing. Kevin looked around, recognizing a few people and beginning to become low-spirited once more when he saw all his friends and their mothers. He spotted his father and Sierra already dancing together across the room and rolled his eyes with a sigh.

"Hey." Gladys nudged him gently. "I know you're not thrilled to be here, but try not to let them keep you from having a good night, okay?" He gave her another weak smile, nodding.

"Thanks Mrs. J. And thanks for coming with me."

"Eh, no problem, kid." she shrugged a little. "Jug preferred to film the whole thing for a project, and your mom really wanted you to come and try to have a good time."

"Yeah, I know. I just miss her." he sighed once more before holding out his hand. "But I promised her I'd try, so...would you like to dance?" She laughed a little, giving an over exaggerated curtsy that made him laugh too before placing her hand in his as they walked to the dance floor.

"Now let me just tell you, it's been awhile since I danced, so don't take it too personal if I step on your feet." she joked as the next song came on, making him laugh again. He supposed that was probably the point, to make him laugh and hopefully help him have a nice night even with how depressing it was to not have his mother with him at a mother-son dance. It didn't take that feeling away, but it _did_ help a little, and he appreciated the effort.

They danced for a little while, and Kevin surprised himself by actually being able to enjoy it because he wasn't left to simply stand around with his thoughts running rampant. It was only when both Gladys and Mary excused themselves to get something to drink that his mood began to drop again.

"You sure you don't want anything, kiddo?" Gladys asked him, receiving only a shake of his head. She nodded and didn't push, simply squeezing his shoulder gently on her way past. He shoved his hands in his pockets once she was gone, sighing for the umpteenth time that night as he turned to face the stage. Josie was supposed to be going on soon, and despite his deep seated loathing for his father's relationship with her mother, he still supported his future step-sister's career.

Which is why when Mary and Gladys stepped on stage instead, his mood changed from depressed to extremely confused as they took hold of the microphones that were set up.

"So sorry to interrupt everyone's night, but we have a very special surprise for someone." Mary spoke first, catching Kevin's eyes and smiling as his confusion increased tenfold.

"What's going on?" Tom asked, he and Sierra stepping up next to the boy.

"I have no idea." he shrugged as Archie also joined them.

"I thought they were going to get a drink." the red haired teen commented, earning another shrug from his friend.

"We know you're all here to spend time with your sons and mothers, so we'll keep this as brief as possible. Kevin, we know it's hard having your mom away for so long. And we know you miss her a lot." Gladys took over, everyone's attention riveted on the stage.

No one noticed the doors in the back of the gym opening or the blonde that stepped inside. Her floor length, one shoulder, open back, baby blue gown swept across the floor as she crossed the gym silently, making her way through the crowd of people as the two women on stage continued their speech. The woman smiled and winked at them as she stopped behind Kevin, the two of them grinning back at her as they finished speaking.

"So why don't you turn around and say hello to your surprise?" Confused, the boy did as he was told, his eyes widening upon seeing the blonde in front of him.

"Mom?!"

"Well are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna give your mother a hug?" Ava Keller teased, holding her arms out for him. He didn't even hesitate to launch himself into them, clinging to her as though his life depended on it as the entire gym, minus Gladys and Mary, looked on in varying degrees of shock, awe, and happiness before bursting into applause.

"Are you really here?" Kevin asked, his voice small and sounding on the verge of tears. "I'm not dreaming?"

"Yeah, baby." she nodded, pulling away a little with tears in her eyes to gently cup his cheeks. "I'm here, no dreams. Promise." He simply hugged her tightly again, a few tears falling when she began running her fingers through his hair like she used to when he was little.

"There's the reaction we were hoping for." Mary smiled as she and Gladys finally joined them. Kevin pulled away from Ava to jump forward and hug them both, laughing happily.

"Thank you." he whispered as they hugged him back.

"Not a problem, kid. We were just in charge of getting you here." Gladys smiled, ruffling his hair as he let them go.

"And you did a wonderful job." Ava pointed out, moving to hug them too. "And so did the kids, knowingly or otherwise."

"That they did. Welcome home, Ava." her friends replied as she stepped back.

"Oh yeah...do you mind if I go and say thanks really quick, mom?" Kevin asked, wiping his eyes. He wanted to spend as much time with his mother as possible, but he also wanted to let his friends know that, even though they hadn't known what was going to happen, he appreciated them convincing him to go to the dance.

"Of course not, sweetheart. I'll still be here when you get back, don't worry." she nodded, smiling gently. He grinned back, kissing her cheek and bounding off to find the rest of his friends.

"Avie?" Ava turned from watching her son disappear into the crowd to face her husband, sighing softly as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Hello Thomas."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming home?" he asked, lifting his arms as though to try and hug her before thinking better of it and dropping them back to his sides.

"It's a little difficult to relay information to people who don't call." she replied dryly, causing him to wince the slightest bit. "Sierra, nice to see you."

"Ava." Sierra replied uneasily. "Welcome home. How long are you back for?" It took all of the blonde's effort not smirk at how clearly uncomfortable the other woman was with her present.

"Permanently." she answered, taking, perhaps twisted, pleasure in the consternation that immediately fell over Sierra's expression and, to a degree, Tom's. "I'm being discharged."

"Wait, really?!" Kevin bounded up next to the three of them, his eyes shining almost as brightly as his smile.

"Really." Ava nodded, smiling back at her son. "I'm home for good. No more tours, no more wars."

"That's the best news I've ever heard!" His grin grew wider than ever, and she felt blessed to be able to see it after 18 months of being in Bahrain. The feeling only grew when the boy looked up upon hearing a new song come on before offering his hand to her with a gallant bow. "May I have this dance, mom?" She laughed, giving a curtsy similar to Gladys's earlier.

"It would be my honor." She allowed herself to forget about the tensions that were surely going to arise between herself, Tom, and Sierra as Kevin led her to the dance floor.

There would be time to deal with them later because now she was finally _home_.

**I would link to the dresses, but I don't think the links would work.**


End file.
